Rooney: Winker got me off the hook

Wayne Rooney owes a debt of gratitude to Cristiano Ronaldo for ensuring he did not shoulder the blame for England’s World Cup exit in Gelsenkirchen.

Rooney’s red card in the quarter-final defeat to Portugal was overshadowed by Ronaldo’s infamous wink, which was roundly condemned within the England camp considering the pair were Manchester United team-mates at the time.

Yet, looking back, Rooney actually believes it did him a favour because his own stamp on Ricardo Carvalho got overlooked, unlike the misdemeanours of David Beckham and Phil Neville that had been highlighted at previous tournaments.

“I didn’t really get any stick,” said Rooney.

“Ronaldo took a lot of it and I was pleased about that.

“I still got it when I played for my club but that is just normal. In that instance, I know I could have taken a lot more.”

Rooney maintains he did not mean to catch Carvalho even if the 23-year-old accepts it looked bad.

But while the Merseysider may retain a fierce competitive streak, a World Cup qualifying campaign that will reach its ninth game out of 10 in Ukraine on Saturday has still to yield a Rooney yellow card.

“There is a balance that you need to get right because if you go over the top, you will miss a lot of games through suspension. And if you’re too aggressive, you can’t really concentrate on the game,” he said.

“The frustration does build up if you are not scoring even if you still play well. I am not saying it makes you do stupid tackles but you do get frustrated.”

With Capello’s entire squad making the flight out to Dnepropetrovsk last night, the Italian is choosing from strength again.

It is likely to mean another cap for Emile Heskey, even though both Carlton Cole and Peter Crouch have been in better goalscoring form recently.

Heskey will always be criticised for his lack of goals. Yet Capello feels Rooney and Steven Gerrard are better players with the burly Aston Villa man in the team.

It is a view Rooney endorses wholeheartedly.

“I love playing up front with Emile,” he said.

“He is big, strong and holds the ball up. He allows me and Steven to get into space, get on the ball and express ourselves.

“Obviously he has been criticised about his goalscoring but what he brings to the team is different. It is great to play off him.”

Having built his team around the axis between Rooney and Gerrard, Capello reasons that nine-out-of-10 performances from those two compensates for Heskey’s inadequacies, giving the pair a freedom that the Manchester United man has not experienced since Euro 2004.

“This is similar to my first year with England,” said Rooney.

“After those Euros I got used in different positions.

“It is not too different now but the manager is allowing us to go forward. If Steven is right up the pitch I can fill in for him and it is the same the other way round. It is good to have that rotation.”